The young driver travelled northbound on Hwy. 400 before reaching King Rd. where he got off and entered the highway’s southbound lanes.

Officers were “able to get in front of this vehicle and get beside it and try to stop it,” said Schmidt.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to make the vehicle stop, an officer was able to pull it over, discovering “shockingly, (it was) an 11-year-old who had just finished playing Grand Theft Auto at home and wanted to find out what it was like to drive a car.”

Schmidt added it was “just an absolute tragedy waiting to happen,” saying he has “never heard” of a driver this young getting behind the wheel on a highway.

The young boy was returned to his parents, and no charges have been laid.

“This is a new one for me,” said Schmidt, who added “he took the vehicle without the family’s knowledge — they were in bed already.”

Drivers who spotted the car going “all over the highway” called police about the erratic behaviour, probably thinking the motorist was impaired, said Schmidt.